~ Just saying...

Let me gift for good not guilt…

I’ve always been a person who likes to give to charities, whether it’s a major international organisation helping a country after some natural disaster or a local fund trying to help disadvantaged children.

I like to think I do my bit.

But I get really angry when, after I’ve donated to said charity, I then get bombarded with mail asking for more.

Not only that but the mail will often contain some ‘gift’ to make me feel guilty if I don’t give again.

It might be notelets, a keyring, Christmas cards or a fridge magnet – but frankly, it’s a waste of money.

If I give to your organisation for a specific reason please use my money for that reason – help a child through school, don’t use it to produce some cheap looking cards that I wouldn’t send to anyone anyway, and then expect me to pay for them.

Your regular (read monthly) mailout wastes paper and postage that could be better spent on that child, cause or country.

How many people across the country do you send this stuff to? How many people just bin it? Or recycle it like us?

How many people actually send you the money you request for these ‘gifts’?

I know it’s hard for organisations to raise the funds they need to do the good deeds they want to do, but wasting money on these mailouts does not endear me to you.

The days of people standing around with a bucket so you can drop in any loose change, is now not enough. You have to buy a raffle ticket (and they’re not cheap) or commit to a monthly donation.

And sadly, it means I’m less likely to give in these situations.

I want to give, I want to help where I can and I will continue to do so but please, stop wasting the money you do receive on mass mailouts and just make sure the money goes where it’s needed most.